Glasgow Montana Retirement/St. Marie (buying a home, buying, building)

[prairieschooner]

My family and I have lived in Saint Marie for almost 2 years now. We came from the big city and found the quiet very inviting.
Yes, you do have townhouses that are not kept up, some surrounding your place but they are good weather blockers. Winters can get cold, but for the most part the weather is very similar to Billings, Montana.
I have found that there are about 300 or so families here and growing. They have a post office and a library/video place in the Town Hall. And the school bus comes up here since there are young families moving in.
There are serious wildlife here, deer, antelope, coyote, skunk, prairie dogs, eagles, badgers, rabbits and my husband saw a mountain lion on the neighbors yard the first fall we were here. I understand that is very unusual.
Some families have lived here for more than 10 years and would love to have more people buy the condo's and create a larger community.
It would be great to have a store to get milk etc. but there are local politics here that seem to hamper that.
They have a Saint Marie Condo Board that is "the good guy's" . What I have observed is a group of retired military people that were elected to this board and decided they liked the title and have stayed on the board for years.
They even created another board called the Saint Marie Village Board which collects fees for roads (and they do plow the roads when snow falls) and street lights. The trash pick up is every friday or you can take your own to the Glasgow landfill which is on the way into town.
The North Valley County Water and Sewer District is going to increase the monthly water prices according to the size of the meter pipe.
I will have to go to the public hearing this July 15th to see what is going on but it sounds like they will be gouging it's customers. What they have proposed is going to price people out of the community.
If a person is serious about coming up here to live check out the seller's. Go through a Realtor and not over the internet! We were lucky and bought a absolutely beautiful place but not all are that way.
It isn't for everyone, Billings is 300 miles away but the drive is beautiful! We have even driven in the winter up to November. Saw a deer in the middle of the road that had been killed and an eagle was on top of it feeding. Now that you don't see everyday!
I would say the only real con is the politics in the Condo Board and the Water Company.
There are very nice people up here, too.

[Copeseticlady]

"Yes, you do have townhouses that are not kept up, some surrounding your place but they are good weather blockers. Winters can get cold, but for the most part the weather is very similar to Billings, Montana."

I lived in Glasgow, Montana from January 2007 - February 2008. Glasgow is 17 miles from St Marie. In February 2008 I moved to Billings, Montana. The weather in Billings is much more temperate than it is in Glasgow. Glasgow had some extreme weather ... going down to -28 in January 2008. I didn't experience anything remotely near that cold here in Billings.

[prairieschooner]

Thanks for writing back, Copeseticlady. Actually, I lived in Butte, MT and Billings for years and if you really watch the weather patterns of Billings and Saint Marie, all in all they are very close in their weather patterns. My parents live in Billings and have been there for over 30 years. They live on the west end of town and I remember when the cows would come through their backyard! Billings has come a long way. We enjoy going down to Billings very much.
Billings has had some really cold winters in the past. You stated that you were in Glasgow for two months, that might not have been fair in your assumption of Saint Marie. When we moved here that first winter it was quite "warm" and had the Glasgow town folks saying that it had been a really fair winter. That was two years ago.
Last winter was cold for awhile but it doesn't seem to last long. Which we are glad for. As the community up here has stated, that it might snow or get cold but never has been one that you couldn't get out to go into town.
You moved from NJ? I thought that would be cold!
Anyway, this summer has been great, too. Yes, we had a couple hot days but all in all it has been very pleasant. Billings on the other hand has had a lot hotter (106 degrees-Billings,94 degrees-Saint Marie).

[mrkool]

Originally Posted by prairieschooner

We have even driven in the winter up to November. Saw a deer in the middle of the road that had been killed and an eagle was on top of it feeding. Now that you don't see everyday!

Well, you've convinced me. Think I'll move up there to see stuff like that.

[Copeseticlady]

Actually ... I lived in Glasgow from January 2007 - February 2008 which is more than a year ... a month before I moved to Billings the temps dipped to -28* in Glasgow ... once I moved to Billings, I only needed to wear a coat outside once ... the rest of the time a heavy sweater sufficed. That was not the case in Glasgow.

Yes NJ is cold ... although the temperatures there rarely sink below the teens, it is the dampness there that makes it feel much colder than it actually is.

[prairieschooner]

Duly noted, Copeseticlady! On the time spent in Glasgow. But missed the point on Billings/ Glasgow weather I was trying to point out.
Yes, Northeastern part of the states are a lot more humid which would make it feel colder.
I have noticed on this forum a negative/sarcastic group which is too bad. Won't go that far as to say that about you, though Copeseticlady.
Everyone has their own opinion.

[prairieschooner]

Last winter we took the photo's of the Osprey as they were "working out the kinks" at the Boeing Air field at Saint Marie, Montana.
The sunset was taken outside our window. No touch ups on these photo's.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by prairieschooner

Last winter we took the photo's of the Osprey as they were "working out the kinks" at the Boeing Air field at Saint Marie, Montana.
The sunset was taken outside our window. No touch ups on these photo's.

Very cool. I hope to be there next summer. :-)

[prairieschooner]

Thank you very much.
That will be great! I have read a lot of negative things on this forum about our area but there are a lot of good things, too. And the scenery is very pretty.

[mtlogger]

Originally Posted by prairieschooner


We have even driven in the winter up to November. Saw a deer in the middle of the road that had been killed and an eagle was on top of it feeding. Now that you don't see everyday

Shoot I see that almost everyday in NW Montana! Who are you kidding?